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Missing Mother Of Five’s Estranged Husband And His Girlfriend Arrested In Her Disappearance
Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis have been charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution days after police reportedly found blood in Jennifer Dulos' home.
The estranged husband of a missing Connecticut mother of five was arrested along with his girlfriend over the weekend in connection with his wife's disappearance.
Fotis Dulos, 51, and Michelle Troconis, 44, were arrested Saturday on charges of evidence tampering and hindering prosecution, the Associated Press reports. Both have been booked on $500,000 bail and have scheduled court appearances for Monday. Details of the accusations against them have not yet been made public.
Dulos was embroiled in a nasty custody battle with his missing estranged wife, 50-year-old Jennifer Dulos. She was last seen after dropping off her children at school in New Canaan on May 24, driving a 2017 black Chevrolet Suburban, according to the New Canaan Police Department. She was reported missing by friends after failing to show up for some appointments. Her vehicle was found the same day but with no trace of Dulos.
Police found blood during a search of Jennifer's home, which appeared to have been cleaned, according the Hartford Courant. They've also searched her husband's home, as well as the park in New Canaan where her vehicle was found. Investigators believe she may have been the victim of a violent crime. An unnamed law enforcement source told The New York Post and WFSB in Hartford that the case is now being looked at as a possible homicide. The New Canaan Police Department did not return Oxygen.com’s immediate request for comment.
Jennifer filed for divorce from her husband, who operates a construction business, in 2017. The couple had been married for 13 years and have five children who range in age from 8 to 13. The missing mom filed an emergency order for full custody the same year she filed for divorce, the Connecticut Post reports. That was denied. In 2017, Jennifer abruptly left the town of Farmington, where the family lived, and moved to New Canaan with the children, according to the Stamford Advocate.
“I am afraid of my husband,” she wrote in an affidavit tied to an order of custody filed in June 2017, according to the Stamford Advocate. “I know that filing for divorce and filing this motion will enrage him. I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.”
She also wrote in the same document what she was “afraid for my safety and the physical safety and emotional well-being of our minor children.”
Jennifer also accused Fotis of infidelity in the divorce paperwork, WFSB in Hartford reports.
The estranged couple's five children have been staying in New York City with Jennifer’s mother, Gloria Faber. They are also being watched by an armed bodyguard, ABC News reports. Faber and Fotis Dulos are also in a legal battle. Faber and the estate belonging to her late husband have accused him of failing to repay $1.7 million in loans to them.
The divorce and custody proceedings have yet to be resolved. A hearing was scheduled Wednesday regarding the safety of the children, the Stamford Advocate reports. A similar hearing was scheduled for last Wednesday, but was postponed, the Hartford Courant reports.
It’s not clear if Fotis or Troconis have lawyers who can speak on their behalf at this time.
